Guiding Light
by sunEmbers
Summary: Vortex is back, and ready to do some damage. Will Danny survive? And what new development will have Sam and Tucker seeing double? Read to find out! (horrible summary is horrible XP ) Eventual slash - PITCH PEARL! :D Rated M for violence and some adult language, just to be on the safe side, and eventual slash.
1. Chapter 1

I own NOTHING, except the plot. This is eventual slash - don't like don't read. :/

That put of the way, this is my fist chaptered fanfic. :D I worked really hard on it, but I am open to constructive criticism. (^w^)

Pitch Pearl - Danny Fenton x Danny Phantom

* * *

The crunch of gravel echoed in his ears. Pain exploded across his senses as he hit the ground, and stars danced in his vision. Cold hands grasped his leg and hurled him into the air once more. A shriek split his throat as he collided with the trunk of a massive oak tree. In panic, he triggered the transformation, new, familiar power coursing through his veins.

It had been a nice, sunny day in Amity and Danny Fenton had gone for a stroll through Amity Park. Alone. Sam and Tucker were off somewhere else - they hadn't told him where, or why. He had just turned a corner, nearing the fountain, mumbling to himself and kicking a soda can across the pavement when he'd heard screaming. When he looked, he saw people of all ages running toward him, howling in terror, and they knocked him to the ground. Fearing being trampled, he'd gone invisible and waited until the stampede had passed.

Getting back to his feet, he turned to get a good look at which ghost was wreaking havoc on the park when an ecto-blast launched him across the clearing towards the construction site of the community center.

"Guess who's back *gasp* punk?" The unmistakable intake of unnecessary oxygen in the middle of the sentence was far too annoyingly familiar to misplace. Groaning, he got to his feet again, clutching at his heart, pulling a thermos out off of his white belt.

"Vortex," He spat. "How did you get out of the Ghost Zone?"

"That matter *gasp* doesn't concern you." The tornado chuckled darkly, charging up another plasma ball behind his back. "I am out now *gasp* and I am back for my *gasp* REVENGE!"

Lightning flashed, and in an instant the weather-controlling ghost hurtled towards Danny, arms outstretched and fists curled tightly. In a comical sense, the image of Superman replaced the one of Vortex for a fraction of a second, and the teen's lips twitched into a small smile before he steeled himself and took to the air.

He ducked left and a cold blast of air hit his side as Vortex rocketed past him. A giant crash and the shattering of glass roared against the pavement, and plumes of dust and rubble swirled upwards.

"So much for the community center," Pristine white boots landed softly on the cracked pavement. The halfa jogged over to the mangled mass of the ruined building.

"You know, we can never have anything nice in this neighborhood because of you evil ghosts. Don't you guys have any other hobbies besides destruction? I suggest knitting."

Vortex didn't answer the taunt. Danny peered into the dust-clouds, searching for the meddlesome weather-maker, keeping the Fenton thermos at the ready.

"Where are you? I thought you wanted to fight!" His voice echoed off the broken beams of the wreckage and slabs of crumbling concrete, bouncing around as if he were in a cavern. "Where are you, scaredy-cloud? Don't make me have to find you!"

Irritated, Danny took a few more steps towards the ruins, his now-green eyes darting back and forth.

_Crunch, crunch, crunch. _

I hope I don't step on any glass. Don't need more injuries that necessary. He peered around a corner panel of steel. The roof maybe?

Something shifted in the air, and he couldn't turn and lift his hand to shoot fast enough. The faint tinkle of glass scuffing the ground and scattering around him was dull in his ears.

It was like someone had plunged daggers into his eyes - like they had poured molten, liquid fire into his irises. Danny wailed in agony, clawing at his eyes in panicked desperation, dropping the thermos. Cruel laughter rang in his ears and he cried out once more in a pain-fueled rage. The sensation was excruciating, and he couldn't think of anything else. White gloves swiped at his eyes, but he couldn't see them; Danny could only feel the panic and agony flooding his senses and fueling his screams. Each time he rubbed his hands against his eyes, a new burst of pain made him yelp.

The insane laughter kept on going, adding to his panic.

Begrudgingly, the halfa pushed back the pain, lowered his hands, and tried to open his eyes. It hurt and stung like hell, but Danny swallowed his shouts and forced himself to pry them open again. He saw nothing. It was getting extremely difficult to keep them open now; they burned and itched and HURT. Danny felt his eyelids flutter wildly, but he kept forcing them open again and again. He blinked a few times and a half-whimper, half-scream flew from his lips, and he clapped his hands over his face. Each blink was excruciatingly painful. Whatever Vortex had done, it wasn't going away. The panic rose again in Danny's chest, and his knees buckled out from under him. Danny dropped to the ground, cursing and shouting obscenities as he went.

Shit… oh god, ow….

Danny shook his head and roared. He couldn't stop himself from blinking and rubbing his eyes, only adding to the haze of hurt and confusion. It felt like needles, bees, and wasps stinging his eyes millions of times per second, and all sorts of other 'oh HELL no's'. Deep down, the teen knew he was doing more self-harm than good, but the desperation and the agony blocked out all rational thought. Realizing how futile the effort was, he pulled his hands away from his eyes, moaning.

Something hot streaked down his face.

Tears?

By now the wetness had soaked his chin, cheeks, and the palms of his gloves, unnoticed; dripped down his neck and totally drenched the collar and some of the chest of his hazmat suit. Sticky, wet warmth oozed down his face.

He smelled blood.

Not good. This is NOT good.

Danny covered his face again and trembled in terror. How was he going to fight now? He had to get home and heal. But how was he going to get to Fenton Works without his sight and a psychopathic tornado-ghost after him? As if in answer, dark laughter reached his ears again, sending chills down his spine.

"Tell me, boy *gasp*, how does it feel?! This is my *gasp* revenge for all you have done to me!" Vortex's voice snapped through the panicky haze of Danny's mind. Pushing the pain and confusion away, he stood on trembling knees, panting in exhaustion.

Slowly, very, very slowly, the teenage halfa braced himself, easing into a fighting stance, bringing the safety shield of his hands away from his face. Danny couldn't tell if his eyes were opened or closed anymore - the numbing pain blocking all other sensations out. Eyes burning, Danny grit his teeth to keep the shout of despair from escaping his throat.

Danny would have to fight blind. He'd have to rely on his hearing.

This was going to be difficult.

I should've ducked.

"I was just doing my job!" The halfa shouted, whipping his head back and forth to listen. "If you hadn't started messing things up, I would've left you the hell alone!"

"Your JOB?! *gasp* And what of mine?!" The sound was echoing around him, bouncing off the rubble and broken steel and concrete. Danny couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. "I am the master of the elements! Storm-bringer *gasp* and rain provider! Without me *gasp* there would be no weather!"

Keep him talking, Fenton.

"Bullshit! There was weather in Amity before you even busted out of the Observer's realm!"

Danny had to get him to respond, and fast. If he didn't know where Vortex was, he was highly endangered by another surprise attack.

An indignant scoff resounded through the air, to his right. Danny whirled and fired several successive ecto-blasts at random. He heard the rumble and crunch of more wrecked building falling and felt the tremors of a wall or a boulder crashing to the ground.

Silence.

A hollow chuckle was the only warning. He felt a breeze waft past his left side and Danny fired blindly once more.

"Pathetic! How did a puny *gasp* FREAK like you defeat ME?"

If Danny was angry before, now he was infuriated. His frayed nerves snapped, and furious rage and white-hot hatred exploded into his core.

"FIGHT ME YOU COWARD! SHOW YOURSELF!" Danny bellowed. His throat burned from the dust his lungs greedily swallowed at a feeble attempt for oxygen.

No answer. No sweep of cold air, no maniacal laughter. Nothing.

The pain in his eyes had dulled a bit. He blinked once more, still listening for Vortex. Faint, blurred outlines of the wreckage appeared all around him, though it was virtually colorless. In amazement, he lifted his hands to his line of vision. They were less blurry than his surroundings, but he could barely make them out against the dark grey world around him. That meant he was healing, but it wasn't enough. Without his vision, Danny was a sitting duck.

"Prepare for your *gasp* DEMISE!"

Danny swiveled his head towards the sound, and he saw a large grey blur hovering above the ground. But as soon as he blinked, everything was black again, and it hurt too much to open his eyes.

A crackling energy formed around Vortex. Though he could not see what was happening, Danny felt the static make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on-end, and he realized he had to move out of the way. The idea of flying never entered his mind. He fled for his life, running as fast as he could go and trying not to stumble.

The halfa didn't get very far before smacking into a blurry hunk of stone he thought had been dozens of feet away. He staggered to his feet and cautiously ducked behind it, crouching low to the ground so that the slab was half on top of him. At least - he **hoped** it was keeping him hidden.

"Playing a game*gasp* of hide and seek, are we? Well *gasp* have it your way. I'll find you soon enough!" Vortex snarled. Danny couldn't tell if the ghost was near or far away.

Damn my hearing.

"I will quite *gasp* enjoy hunting you down *gasp* ghost child!"

Danny tried to focus on whether the voice was getting closer or farther away, but it was very difficult. All he could hear was the rush of blood in his ears and his hushed, ragged breathing. His head spun, and he felt like passing out. Danny quickly botched the feeling, shaking his head and re-focusing. He needed an escape plan.

Options…

If he made a break for it, Vortex could easily hear or see him. But if he stayed, Vortex had an equal chance of finding him. The halfa blinked rapidly, painfully, screwing his eyes shut as tightly as possible to squeeze out the still-flowing tears and blood before taking another look around. Everything was grey now, and blurry shapes could somewhat be seen nearer to him, but he wasn't positive of their distance. It seemed his vision was slowly healing itself, but more than likely in the wrong way. And where would he run to? Which way? The landscape was all black or grey, really blurry, and frightening to think about too much.

No telling which way I'd go. I can barely tell where I am.

The snowy-haired spectre's green eyes watered and squinted painfully as he tried to see color. A tiny patch of greenish-grey flashed in his peripheral before it was gone again. Glancing back and forth, Danny found that it was like a star in the night sky. If he looked right at it, he couldn't see it. But if he looked somewhat away from it, it was like a signal flare against the grey.

A bush? No. Too tall. A tree.

If he made it there, he could shimmy up the trunk and change back into a human. No way in hell was he flying blind.

The plan was rather half-baked, he knew, and the chances of him making it were second to none, but the thought of staying behind this rock made his skin crawl. At least from there it would make it more difficult for Vortex to find him than being visible from three sides. Hiding in the leaves was his only chance.

Danny summoned the glowing rings around his waist. He felt his ghostly core recede - felt his powers slip into his chest a slight bit - and the halos drifted up and over his head and shoulders. The change only took a few seconds, but as soon as it was over, a wave of exhaustion drenched him, and the pain in his eyes and sore chest soared to dizzying heights. Because he had changed back into a human, his healing powers had greatly diminished - his energy vastly depleted. Sometimes he hated changing back after a fight just for this reason; it drained his human half of almost all energy.

"Where are you? Come out, come out, *gasp* wherever you are."

The malevolent voice startled him for a moment. Through the dizziness, he remembered he was supposed to be running to the tree.

From the sound of it, Vortex was far away. He locked his gaze on the tree he'd spotted earlier. Or… tried to, anyway. To his horror, Danny realized that, along with his strength, his vision was much, much weaker in his human state. Blackness crowded his periphery, and the grey had turned even darker than before. There were also tiny, multi-colored dots swimming all over the place. Everything blurred together, and he was even more confused than ever. Danny couldn't tell what was what, how far away it was, or even if there WAS anything out there at all.

"Here, ghost boy! Come on out. I *gasp* don't bite!'

He had to move. He had to.

I have to.

Picking a spot at random, Danny made a mad dash out into the grey matter around him.

"There you are!" The ghostly tornado cackled. "Prepare *gasp* for my wrath!"

The thought 'oh shit' didn't even finish crossing his mind before he triggered the energy rings into motion, jumping and twisting in the air to let loose a horde of ectoplasmic shots at the foe he heard behind him. Danny couldn't see where his blast went, but he heard a cry of surprise.

Did I hit him?

No.

The halfa had only made the un-dead tornado swerve, firing the lightning bolt he'd gathered in his clawed hands to vaporize the half-ghost below him to slip from his clutches, and strike the ground at least forty feet away from his target.

It seemed to happen in slow-motion (though Danny saw nothing).

Arcs of blue electricity flash and strobe in the air like a paparazzi flashes. It was like a fireworks show in black and white. Each bolt made the oxygen in the area crack like a whip - Danny's teeth buzzed and ached, goose bumps traveled up and down his arms. He smelled ozone heavy in the air, and his heart trembled in his chest.

He still hadn't completely phased into Phantom. The tell-tale lights were only at his chest and almost to his knees. Though his morphs usually took only a matter of moments, the electricity was much, much faster.

The bolt had sunken into the ground, but Danny felt the sparking after-shock racing towards him like a bullet without even registering what it was.

All it took was a mere second for the lightning to consume him.

It was swallowing fire, sticking his fork into a toaster and jumping into a pool right after. Only much worse. Touching an electric fence would be petting a puppy compared to this. Never before had he felt such pain, even from a battle with a particularly powerful opponent. Not being able to see what was going on made the agony all the more unbearable, amplifying it to powerful levels.

Electrical surges pulsed through his veins. Danny writhed like a snake, twitching madly and shrieking at the top of his lungs. His chest felt hollow, like it'd explode. Every beat of his heart and pulse of his ghost core was an agonizing, fiery, searing torture that gripped his ribcage.

He couldn't move. He couldn't move, and that made the electrical torrent all the more intense. Danny felt his limbs were on fire. He saw stars. Black, red, and white spots erupted before his eyes in a spasmodic fireworks show. The smell of ozone, burnt hair and skin reached his nose, but he could only scream and thrash in the bolt's menacing grip. The halfa felt his ghost core thrumming in his chest, just as hollow as his heart.

So this is what electrocution feels like.

That hollow feeling changed in the matter of an instant.

Somehow, the lightning went DEEPER. If you asked him, he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew. But it curled around his ghost core, and pulled. It felt like being torn open. Pain engulfed him once more, and he writhed and screamed in hysteria. This agony drowned out the pain of the shock, and consumed him.

Oh God oh God oh God…

Then, just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. With a surreal flash of intense sky blue and blazing, acidic green, it was over.

Two teenagers now lay in the center of the burnt circle the bolt had made where there once was only one.

One was clad in a black and white lab suit and possessed wild, singed, inky black hair. The other was wearing the very same suit, but inverted. Where on the collar, gloves, belt, and boots of the first were black, the second's were white. The one that had seemed to appear out of nowhere had the same style of wild, unruly, hair; but it was white instead of the black on the other's scalp. They seemed to be twins.

They opened their eyes at the same time, both gasping for air. The boy with black hair turned his head and spat blood onto his pristine white jumpsuit.

Each was bewildered and panicked. Hysterical and feeling indefinitely out of place. Dazed, they screeched, scrambling to sit up. The pair took a moment to get their bearings, one looking around wildly as the ravenette's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the scorched earth once more.

The other, however, stood up.

Green eyes blazed, taking in the landscape. Rubble and smoke and dust filled the air, and the scent of blood and scorched soil filled his nose. He wasn't supposed to be breathing, was he? Or seeing, for that matter, right? Confusion clouded his mind, and a huge rush of energy entered him.

_What just happened?_ Phantom thought. _What's going on?!_

It came back to hit him like a freight train about a second later.

Was he the original? The human? Or the ghost? Considering he was floating a bit and had white hair, he assumed he must be Danny Phantom. So, if he was the ghost, where was his human half?

_Holy shit!_

He whirled to the other Danny collapsed on his back in the crater. His eyes were closed, his breathing was fast and shallow - labored. The human Danny wasn't moving.

_Oh no…_

A roar of rage echoed through the rubble, and the ground trembled below his boots.

"How DARE you *gasp*…. You INCOMPETENT *gasp* TWIT!" The ground started to quake, and storm clouds blocked what little sunlight was shining. "YOU *gasp* WILL *gasp* PAY!"

Lightning cracked the sky in two, and Phantom flinched in fear. The world he had just begun to experience on a first-hand basis was drenched in black and white. At the sight, rage sank its sharp, heated teeth into the ghost's core. It sizzled inside him and made his ectoplasm boil, replacing the fear. It was time to fight.

_But first…_

Phantom stepped shakily to Fenton on wobbly knees - his first steps since they'd separated with the Fenton Ghost Catcher. Hefting the unconscious, fully-human teen into his arms, he took a moment to learn how to keep his balance. Carrying Danny Fenton bridal style, he tucked the black-haired half of him to his chest and stumbled into the dust clouds on trembling legs. It was hard to move, at first - Phantom was far too unused to being apart from Fenton. He concentrated to put one foot in front of the other, reveling in the freedom for a bit. His head spun, but he clutched Danny tighter and trekked farther forward. Phantom came across a small hole in the ground, sheltered between some of the park's older maples. He nearly fell into it - the hole wasn't visible unless you were right on top of it. Deciding this was as good a spot as ever, he eased Danny into the pit, pulling his counterpart's arms across his chest to lay him down.

When the dark-haired human was safely in the ditch and hidden away, Phantom brushed a gloved hand across his cheek.

It pained and worried him to leave his human half (_Or is it __**our**__ human half?_) defenseless, unconscious, and all alone like this, but he had to get Vortex under control before he did anything rash.

"Where ARE you?!' Vortex screeched.

The rage came back tenfold, and Phantom growled in anger. The ghost took to the air, finding it much more natural to fly.

_I'm definitely Phantom, then._

Going invisible, he kept his mouth shut and soared towards the site Danny had originally lost his vision. The thermos lay there, abandoned. He picked it up and clutched it like a bat, then took off towards Vortex.

"Hey, jackass! Looks like the weatherman called! It'll be sunny and 90 when I'm through with you!" Phantom cried into the clouded air. Adrenaline fueled him, and he put on a burst of speed to his flight.

Vortex was in sight now, hovering forty feet above the ground, a scowl on his face and static electricity coursing from his eyes as he searched for the young ghost. The funnel cloud that was his tail had turned into a dark mass of storm clouds, raindrops spattering the ground as it lashed back and forth furiously.

A loud, ear-splitting **crunch** could be heard as the ghost boy's invisible fists pounded into Vortex's face.

The battle had begun.

Screams tore through the sky, both out of rage, pain, and surprise. Blow after blow was landed and thrown and missed. The two opponents twisted, swerved, dove, and rose again; locked in a fierce and jerky aerial dance. Phantom landed more blows than he was missing, but Vortex was a quick fighter and swiftly retaliated when the opportunity arose. The white-haired ghost somersaulted in the air, curling his arms into his chest to slip around Vortex's thrashing tail. Flying back around to face the furious, bruised weather-maker, Phantom charges his hand with an ecto-blast, aims, and throws.

One minute, Vortex was in the sky. The next, he was creating a ditch in the dirt as deep as a minivan was long across the battle-scarred earth, skidding and bouncing like a stone over water. The evil spectre came to a crashing halt meters away from the human Danny's hiding place - red eyes staring at the sky, glazed over with shock and pain.

Without a second's thought, Phantom swooped down hurriedly into the crater. Rage consumed him again - coursed through his entire being. Phantom loses himself as he slams his fists into Vortex over and over again. And once he started, he found he couldn't stop. Blow after blow was landed, and ecto-charged punches and kicks made the rut flash like a glow stick. Unbridled fury was the only thing he felt. He certainly didn't feel the crunch of armor or the soft yet harsh thuds as his extremities struck ectoplasmic 'flesh'.

By now Vortex was screaming. His cries fell upon deaf ears. But when Phantom felt the first splatter of cold ectoplasm on his cheek, it snapped him out of the red haze, and he stepped back, halting his next punch mid-swing.

"Please… please *gasp* stop."

Slowly, in a daze, he flicked off the cap of the Fenton Thermos. A soft blue light envelops the beaten ghost, and sucks him up without a sound.

The now ex-halfa stood there, panting in exhaustion. His sides ached, and his fists felt numb and swollen like baseball gloves. Phantom could barely keep his grip on the thermos. Looking down, he found that his suit had holes, and his once pure-white boots were stained an unappealing, sooty grey, splattered with ectoplasm and blood. So were his gloves. The ectoplasm of Vortex was speckled along the white fabric so that they dyed were a dull green. A haze of weariness washed over him, and Phantom staggered a bit on his legs before his knees gave out. He lay in the dirt, moans of pain escaping his split lips.

_Shit… Gotta get home. Danny's gonna be - OH __**SHIT**__! DANNY!_

The exhaustion instantly faded away, panic and adrenaline taking its place, igniting every nerve ending in his body like a live-wire. Phantom shot up from the ground and raced towards his counterpart's hiding place, frantically looking around until he saw the tell-tale flash of sun against a white hazmat suit. The ghost skidded to a halt in front of the hole, scooping Danny into his arms.

The raven-haired teen seemed to be alright in the terms that his breathing had stabilized and was even and deeper than after they were torn in two. Phantom eased the unconscious male further into his arms, carefully tucking him into his chest. Was it just him, or was Fenton heavier than before?

As soon as he had a grip on the obsidian-haired teen, the ghost took off in the direction of Fenton Works.

Streets blurred below him, and he staggered and drooped as he flew. He nearly dropped Fenton twice. Acidic green eyes fought a war just to stay open, the sides of buildings seemed to close in on him, and he jerked awake again when he nearly crashed into one.

It took an eternity to reach the unique house on the corner, and another million to phase through into the human's (_Mine? His or ours?_) room to set his now thousand-pound burden unto the bed. At long last, Phantom allowed himself to ease back on the bed and let sleep swallow him.

The thermos tumbled to the floor and rolled under the bed with a soft **kerchunk**. His weariness makes his bones ache, but the ghost preferred it over the panic that had gripped him earlier. He - _they_ - were safe now. Pulling the other close, he falls asleep beside his human half.


	2. Chapter 2

In chapter one, i forgot to explain a few things. Danny's thoughts are underlined, but Phantom's thoughts are both underlined and italicised.

I own nothing but the plot. Please enjoy. ^_^

* * *

"Danny! Time fore school, dude, wake up!" Voices cut through the peaceful darkness. Phantom heard and faintly registered the door opening - two gasps of surprise.

He didn't stop to think. He didn't recognize them as people, or innocents, and didn't bother hesitating. The adrenaline coursing through his body didn't allow a split moment's doubt. In Phantom's exhausted, pain-riddled state all the ghost hero thought he knew was that whoever was here to hurt him.

Them. _Us. Fenton must be protected._

Instinct kicked in, and energy started flowing again, coursing through to his limbs. In an instant, Phantom whirled on the intruders, a snarl curling his lips and ecto-blasts blazing in his fists ready to fire, all the while hovering protectively over his human half like a vulture, hiding the teen from prying eyes.

"Danny! What the hell?!"

"Shit, man, calm down!"

He knew those voices. The familiar tones made his attack waver, and it dissipated like a wisp of smoke as the identities of the two trespassers were realized.

"Sam? Tucker?" Phantom dropped the tense pose he was in - arms going slack and the energy pulsing in his core vanishing. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to wake you up for school. Duh!" Tucker rolled his eyes and fiddled with his PDA.

_They haven't seen Fenton yet. Shit, what do I do?!_

Phantom wavered uneasily, wanting to dart out the door, but not wishing to give away the hidden Danny under him. Good thing he'd covered the ravenette's frame with a blanket…

"Did you fight a ghost yesterday? You look pretty worn out.." Sam stepped closer, reaching out a hand to touch one of the tears in his suit on his arm.

Phantom flinched away from her, stuttering.

"Y-yeah, I got it." At the Goth's look he pantomimed a yawn, desperately trying to convince them he was the other Danny - the Danny who was usually in control of things.

"Then why are you still in ghost form? If you took care of it, change back. It's just us, Jazz left early and let us in and your parents are gone." Sam stared at him, arms crossed and combat boot-clad foot thumping on the carpet.

"Uhm.."

_Oh shit, I'm screwed._

He didn't even know if he COULD change back. What if he couldn't?! What COULD he do? Obviously all his ghost powers were intact, and so far he could talk pretty well. But which half was he?! Phantom would have been able to find out, he was sure, had these two friends of… the combined Danny's hadn't came in.

He was snapped out of his thoughts and the ever-increasing glare of Sam's violet stare by Tucker.

"What's that behind you?" Tucker was leaning to the side, staring at the lump under the covers that was his counterpart.

"What's behind me? Nothing! Tucker, I think you're seeing things!" He shrilled, inwardly starting to panic and cursing every ghost he had ever come across when he and the other Danny were merged.

"Your eye is twitching. What are you hiding?" The goth put her hands on her hips, once again glaring at the ghost still hovering over Fenton's unconscious body.

"T-twitching? No, no, no, I'm fine!" Contrary to his words, he felt his eye do that involuntary twitch and he could feel sweat on his palms. It made his gloves feel gross on his skin. "What's up with you guys today? You need more rest!"

"Stuff it, Danny." Sam barked, turning to the techno-geek. "Tuck, what is it?"

"It MOVED!" Tucker squealed, ducking behind the ultra-recyclo vegetarian.

"Huh?" Phantom gulped. _God damned it!_

"IT"S MOVING! IT"S FUCKING MOVING!" Tucker was about to break into hysterics.

"Oh, you big baby, it's probably just Cujo." Sam rolls her eyes, reaching for the blanket. Before Phantom could even blink, the human female had ripped the sheets off the bed.

No one moved. Phantom hoped none of the teens would say a word -

"OH MY GOD!" The two friends shrieked in unison.

The ghost found himself splaying his hands palms- out in the universal 'calm the fuck down' pose, trying to make sense of what they were saying. Same and Tucker were screaming at him at the same time, and it made his head hurt. Anger came over him, and Phantom growled low in his throat.

"Calm down. It's explainable." He snapped.

"**Explainable**?! **HE'S COVERED IN BLOOD**!" Tucker roared.

"You better get to explaining, ghost, before I get a Thermos." She hissed.

Phantom's eyes flashed an intense, radio-active green. Sam and Tucker winced, but continue to glare at the ghost.

"Vortex hit us with lightning and we were separated. I don't know exactly how yet, and I haven't tried a merge. We're both too exhausted." Phantom sank calmly back unto the bed, nudging Danny into a more comfortable-looking position.

The boy barely even moved.

As he took a closer look at Danny, he realized why the two humans were so concerned. But for the after-life of him, he couldn't remember why the human's face was so…. Bloody.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Sam's voice cut him out of his examination, and it shook as she spoke.

She wanted to get Phantom away from Danny. She didn't trust Phantom. But the likelihood of that happening was slim, the spectre would probably shoot them with ghost-energy.

"Huh?" Phantom was trying to ignore the others. His focus was foremost on Danny, and his well-being.

"His eyes. What's wrong with them?" The techno-geek was quick to cut in.

Now the ghost remembered. The glass, the searing agony he had felt through their bond, and the blood… the stench of it still hung in his nose.

Hurriedly - and yet with the tenderness of a soft breeze - a white-gloved hands took hold of the human's blood-stained face and cupped it. Turning the clone-face closer towards him, Phantom tried not to gag at the sight that greeted him.

It looked like his human half had been put in a blender and whacked with a baseball bat - there were tears and scrapes and burns dotting his entire body, some scabbed over and some still slick with blood. The white suit that was once as snowy as the ghost's hair was now a pale pinkish and an intense red closer to the wounds. There were smears of dirt patching his legs and arms from where he'd skidded and fell in the battle.

Bruises of all shapes and sizes covered his face, but his nose didn't look broken. Danny Fenton had a split bottom lip, a few cuts and scrapes on his forehead, and the blood… so much blood…

Wide, russet-red streaks ran down the sides of his face, down his neck and even ran to his ears where he had lain on the bed to sleep that night. Glancing at the pillow he'd been resting on, Phantom, Sam, and Tucker saw it had speckles of blood as well, mainly where his ear was. It was sticky-looking near his eyes, which were swollen. The three couldn't even tell where the eyelid started - they were so dark with the injuries. However, the blood was much drier the farther away from his eyes, even flaking off in some places.

"God." No one knew or even cared who'd said it. They were all too busy staring at the ruined, decimated face of their friend and/or counterpart.

Were the eyes still bleeding?

Sam grabbed Phantom's hand as he went to touch, shaking her head and glaring at him.

Coughing and wrenching his wrist back, he turned to Tucker.

"Tucker, I need water. Sam, could you get me a few rags and the first-aid kit we keep under the bed?"

Tucker nodded and ran out into the hallway, thundering down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sam, however, just growled and stooped to get the first-aid kit, hauling it up and plopping it down besides the ghost, and watched him carefully.

"I know you already hate me, but what did I do to you?" Phantom asked.

He dug out a few gauze wraps, some cotton swabs, and some peroxide to clean out Danny's cuts. Dabbing a bit into a particularly nasty-looking gash on Danny's chest, doing his best to move aside the clothing.

"I've never attacked you before. Why would I want to now?"

"I don't trust you," Sam snapped, crossing her arms in defiance. "How do I know you won't do something dangerous and stupid? _Hero _Phantom." She spat.

"I'm not that Phantom. At least, I don't think I am.. I don't feel all that heroic at the moment." He mumbled, pouring more peroxide unto a cotton ball and dribbling a healthy amount unto it. "I don't know what I am yet."

The Goth was about to reply when Tucker burst back into the room, placing a bowl of water unto the bedside table along with some paper towels and washrags from the bathroom.

"Thank you, Tucker." Phantom peeled off his gloves, and reached for the bowl, dipping a cloth in water and gently stroking away the blood on Danny's face. With each dip, the water in the bowl steadily turned a pale crimson; almost like Kool-Aid.

"You two should go." The ghost barely stopped to look at the humans crowded next to the bed, looming over him like vultures to see the clean face of their best friend.

"HELL no!" Sam shouted, punching Phantom's shoulder. "We're not leaving him here with YOU!"

"Danny need us!" Tucker frowned, also turning a pointed stare at the white-haired spectre. "You can't just -"

The techno-geek swallowed the rest of his sentence when two glowing green eyes locked their intense, icy stare upon him.

The eyes moved to Sam, then back, and over both of them once more, radiating a cold, icy rage at them. Even Sam looked taken aback, and went quiet.

"What he **needs**," Phantom hissed, "Is **rest**. When he wakes, and has enough strength to stand the company, you can come back."

"You need to take him to a doctor! He can't just sit here - look at him! How are you going to fix all of this?!" Sam threw her hands towards her raven-haired friend on the bed.

"I think I can treat a few bumps and scrapes, Samantha." Phantom spat. "We've done this for years now, I know how. IF he gets worse, I'll take him to your house. You know the best doctors - all that money your parents posses should come in useful."

Sam was ready to explode - to grab a Fenton Thermos and lock the irritating, infuriating clone away for good. Who was he to tell them what they could and couldn't do for their friend?!

Sam looked about ready to strangle the ghost, but Tucker jumped in before the train wreck started.

"Sam, he's right. We can't do anything for Danny right now - Phantom has it handled," At her glare, Tucker frowned. "And if we don't get to school, our parents won't let us leave our houses. If that happens, we won't be able to come back at all, and what will you do then?"

"Tucker, Phantom will dart off again, remember?!"

"No I won't. I have to take care of Danny. I'm not going anywhere." The ghost growled, edging closer to the boy sleeping at his side.

"Sam, think about it. We can come back every day after school, check on them and then leave again. Sound good to you, Phantom?"

Phantom nodded. Whatever, as long as they'd just **leave **soon.

Sam paused, and glared at her boots. She hated the idea of leaving her friend with **HIM**. But Tucker was right. Sighing, she nodded, and then glared at the ghost.

"Fine. You can take care of him. But if I catch you flying around town, or we come back and find you gone, you're finished. I'll get a Thermos and make sure you don't see daylight until we can merge you back."

Before Phantom could hiss a reply, she grabbed Tucker's wrist and dragged him out the door, tossing him into the hallway before whipping around again. "You better call if he gets any worse."

And with a slam of the door, they were gone, and Phantom and Danny were alone again.

HE locked the door, then finished cleaning Danny up. He changed the teen into a pair of clean clothes - some shorts and a worn-out t-shirt, minding all the wrappings and new bandages, not even looking at the boy properly. His thoughts were to distracting, running in a loop - a broken record, playing themselves out over and over again.

_What am I going to do? Danny needs a doctor - I can't heal his eyes on my own.. When will he wake up?_

An intense pain erupted behind his eyes, and he gasped in pain. Quickly deciding not to think anymore, Phantom puts the medical kit back under the bed and lays down beside the prone body of Danny Fenton, curling up in a ball, his knees pressed up against Danny's side.

The last thing he saw before sleep took him under was Danny.


End file.
